QuestionsCategory: QuestionsWhat are realistic salinity level ranges (in psu) and temperature ranges (in celsius) of the North Atlantic Ocean?
Clean Harbors Staff asked 4 months ago

I am trying to make sense as to why salinity levels impact the density of ocean water more than temperature. This is in an attempt to understand the two-box model of ocean circulation.

I know there are graphs/data available that show the salinity levels vs density of water, as well as graphs that show temperature vs the density of water. However, in order for these to make more sense in terms of why salinity makes more of a difference in determining the density, I wanted to understand first what are the lowest and highest salinity levels/temperature of ocean water in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).

I realize this is a bit of a simplification. However, in the density calculations, salinity holds more weight than temperature in determining the density of the ocean water. I just want to have a concrete way (even if it's oversimplified for the sake of a mathematics exercise) to understand why salinity has a greater effect.

Thank you!!!